Dough-raising machine.



P. G. BIRD.

DOUGH RAISING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1913.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

WITNESSES."

- ATTORNEY.

F. G. BIRD.

DOUGH RAISING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1913.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

III'II lNV EA lTOR. [Chm Z; Bi d WITNESSES.-

A TTORNE Y.

F. G. BIRD.

DOUGH RAISING MAGHINEL APPLIOATION FILED JULY 14', 1913.-

LQQZfiQD Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

s SHEETS-SHEET 3 6 r i 4: a

WITNESSES.- 11v VENTOR.

I fiam iuzw. BY

A TTORNE Y.

, following is a speci yeast conta ned therein whereby at the crusty conit has been found that the temperature in the ratrnur orrion.

. FRANK G. BIB/D, 0F SPRINGFIELD; MASSACHUSETTS.

DOUGH-RAISING MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

1,092,089, Specification or Letters Patent.

' Application filed July 14, 1913. Serial No. 778,913.

To all whom it may concern: upper part of the casing should be about Beit known that I, FRANK Gr. Brno, a c1 t1- 130 F. and at the lower ordelivery end the zen of the United States of America, resi temperatureshould be about 90 F. which is ing at Springfield, in the county ofHampa diiierence of 40 for the ripening'process,

den and State of Massachusetts, have inand it also has been found inpractice that should continue for a perio of substantially fortyeightminutes in order to thoroughly ripen or raise the dough.

Referring to the drawings :-Figures 1 and 1" designate the inc'losingcasing of the and useful Improvements the process Machines, of which thefication.

This invention relates to improvements in vented certain new inDough-Raising bread making machines and particularly in machines forraising or ripening the dough machine. The two figures represent aconprior to the baking process. It is designed tinuous casing, Fig. 1showing the entrance to subject the dough, which has been pre end of thecasing where the loaves of doug viously placed. in the baking tins, to adefiare inserted after being placed in the baking nite temperature andmoisture for a predetins, and Fig. 1 at the right-hand portion termin'edperiod for the purpose of causing designating the delivery end of'thecasing the dough to rise or ripen by reason of: the where the loaves areremoved and are then end of this raising process the dough is in therequired chemical condition for baking. That is to say, the yeastcontained in each individual quantity of dough has had the necessarylength of time to cause the dough tov rise or-ripen prior to the bakingprocess.

The invention. in general comprises an inclosing casing or chamberwithin which is located an endless carrier or conyeyer to which areattached shelves that are adapted to receive the tins containing thedough that is to be subjected to the raising or ripening process.Suitably located within this casing is a tank containing water andprovided with means for heating the water so that a definite quantity ofmoisture will escape therefrom and completely fill the interior of thecasing with a saturated vapor. This saturated vapor causes the dough orpasty mass to assume a soft or pliable condition so that, when thepassed immediately to the baking ovens, the broken away portions of thetwo figures representing the manner in which the end-' less conveyer ismounted within the casing. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on theline 22 of Fig. 1 showing the pendant shelves that are carried by theendless-conv yer, the supportingbrackets on which the anti-frictionrollers of the conveyer chain travel, also the water tanks at the lowerpart of the casing for supplying the requisite amount of moisture andthe steam pipes for maintaining the water at a definite temperature.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 10 designates the inclosing casingerably made of wood of a suitable kind.

11 designates which usually consists of sheet zinc. This lining is forthe purpose of preventing the moisture from gaining access to thecasing, and it also furnishes a suitable metal that can be readilycleansed or washed when required to maintain the casing in a sanitarycondition. Located within the-casing is an endless-conveyer 12 that issuitably supported on sprocket-wheels 13, 14, 15, 15, 17, 18,

same is transferred to the baking ovens after the raising process, itwill not be in a dry or dition.

An object of the invention is to maintain the upper part of the casingat a higher temperature than the lower part, and the endless conveyer isso arranged that the dough is initially subjected to this highertemperature immediately after being placed therein, and, as it travelsback and forth through the chamber, it will successively come intocontact with moistened air that 15 lower in arranged rods or shaftswhich turn in bearings secured to the sides of the, casings, as shown.The sprocket-wheels 13 and 1a are located at the entrance or receivingend 0 the casing and the sprocket-wheels 15, 17

and 19 which are mounted on transversely that is pref temperature. Thetemperature at the deand 19 are located at the opposite or delivliveryend is very much lower than at the cry end of the casing, 'While the twointerentrance end of the machine. In practice, mediate sprocket-wheels16 and 18 are located. at the receiving end but farther from I cated inFig. 1 at 37.

the end of the casing than the wheels 13 and 14., as shown. The conveyoris made up of links that are pinned together as inclicated at 20'. Thelinks 20 are connected together on opposite sides of the machine bymeans of the bars or rods 21, it being understood that the conveyor isduplicated on both sides of the casing. epending froin the rods 21 arethe pendant shelves 22 which are supported from the rods 21. by means01" the upturned ends 23. These hangers 0r shelves are designed toreceive the tins containing the loaves of dough that are to be raised orripened while passing back and forth within the casing. I

In order that the two sides of the conveyor lnay always be maintained ina horizontal position to prevent the loaves as they rise from assumingan uneven 0r one-sided shape, the conveyer chains are supported onbrackets 24 which, are bolted or othcri'vise secured to the inside ofthe casing. These brackets support horizontally arranged track-ways 25which project inwardly from the sides of the casing.

26 designates antifriction rollers or wheels carried by thechain-connecting-pins 20 and which rest upon the track-ways 25. In orderto maintain the endless-conveyer at the proper tension, provision ismade for tightening or taking up the slack in the same. This tensiondevice comprises a block 27 through which the shaft 28 of thesprocket-wheels 17 passes and is located in a bearing member 29 fromwhich projects a threaded rod 30 that extends through a threaded openingin the member 29.

3 designates a handle that is connected to the rod 30 whereby, when thehandle 31 is rotated, the block 27 can be moved in the bearing 29 totake up any slack in the con veyer-chain.'

The motive power to operate the conveyor is connected to a pulley 32which is mounted on the shaft 33 in the bracket 3-1. This shaft carriesthe pinion 35 which meshes with the spur-gear 36. Any suitable motivepower can be belted to the pulley 32 as indi- The ratio of rotationbetween the pinion 35 and the gear 36 is 'such that a very slow movementis imparted to the driving-shaft 38; For the purpose of inspectingdheraising process of the dough, suitable windows are provided as ini'catedin Figs. and 1* at 40, and, in order to" gain accessto the interior ofthe. casing" for purposes of repair or cleansing; suitable doors'areprovided as indicated at 4-1.

eferring now to the means for imparting definite degree of moisture tothe interior of the casing, whereby the dough undergoing the raisingprocess will be subjected to l the correct amount of moisture, tanks 42as shown are located in the bottom part of the casing and ext-endinglongitudinally thereof. 1

43 is a pipe connected to the tanks 42 for supplying cold Water theretofrom any suitable source of supply as mains.

4A designates a steam pipe which extends lengthwise of and within thetanks 42 whereby the water therein may be raised and maintained at adefinite temperature. The tanks are provided with a suitable number ofoverflow pipes 45 which discharge hot water into a suitable drain ortrough 46. These overflow pipes are located on and connected to theupper side of the tanks 42 as shown, and terminate with their open endsat the trough 46. These pipes and the open trough 46 are for the purposeof supplying the interior of the casing with the desired amount ofsaturated vapor or moisture which will ascend from the open trough 4Gand from the open ends of the pipes 45 as indicated at 46. Also locatedwithin the casing are steam pipes 41-53 which are for the purpose offurnishing a dry heat should the quantity of moisture contained Withinthe casing be too great.

-19 designates a ventilator that is located in the upper part of thecasing and is designed for the purpose of varying the temperature andthe quantity of moisture contained within the casing as it will bereadily seen that, when the ventilators are open wide, the interior canbe readily cooled.

Referring now to the operation of the machine, it being understood thedough has previously been subjected to the first raising process thatthe dough which is to be subjected to the second raising process hasalready been divided up into definite and equal quantities andpreviously placed in the baking tins for this second raising or ripeningprocess, the worlmnm passes the tins containing the dough through theentrance opening 50 and places the same on the pendant shelves 22 of theconveyor as indicated in Fig. 2 at 22. The loaves of dough. then travelin succession upward along the top portion of the casing, then re turn,and. then forward again, and so on continuously until they reach thedelivery opening 51 at the opposite end of the casing where they areremoved from the shelves 22 and placed in the baking oven. It will beseen from this description that each quantity of dough is subjected toexactly raising or ripening process, as each tin remains in theinclosing casing exactly the same length of time and is subjected toexactly the same conditions and the result is that a product that isuniform is produced.

The presence of moisture within the easing causes the dough or pastymass to remain soft and pliable during the raising process; if the airwithin the interior of the ising was dry, the pasty mass would notpresent a uniform appearance at the end of the raisthe same "from thecity water from binding on the sprocket-wheels when in operation, it isdesirable to provide means to compensate for the difference in travelbetween the opposite, sides of the conveyor should any occur. This isaccomplished by keying, or otherwise securing, all of thesprocket-wheels on one side to the shafts 52,

53, 5s, 55, 38, 2S, and 56. ()n the-opposite ends of these ment, thelinks will always correctly engage the teeth of the sprockets and therods 21 will always remain parallel with each other.

What I claim is 1. In' a machine of the class described, the combinationwith an inclosing casing of a plurality of track-ways secured to theinner sides thereof, an endless conveyor provided with anti-frictionrollers engaging the trackways, of shelves freely suspended from saidconveyor, means for operating the conveyer, a longitudinally extendingtank arranged within the casing, a pipe connected thereto for supplyingwater tothe interior of the tank, a pipe located within the tank tomaintain the water at a definite temperature, outlet pipes connccted tothe tank for furnishing the interior of the casing with moisture, meansto,'heat the interior of the casin a ventilator arranged in the upperend of the c: sing for regulating the quantity of moisture and thetemperature, the opposite ends of the casing being formed witlrreceivingand delivery openings whereby when a pasty or spongy mass is carried onthe endless conveyer in reverse directions therein, it will be subjectedto a moisture during the ripening process.

2. Ina machine ofthe class described for subjecting a pasty or a spongymass to a ripening process and comprising in combination, an inclosingcasing an endless-conveyer located therein, to receive the mass, meansto support said conveyor and arranged in diti'erent horizontal planes,means to cause the conveyor to travel in reverse directions and throughportions of the casing at different temperatures, the opposite ends ofthe casing having receiving and delivery openings, the conveyor at thereceiving end extending first shafts, the sprockebwheels turn loosely.By means'of this arrangeshelves, supported definite temperature andupward to the upper part of the casing at which point the temperature ofthe heated air within, the interior of the casing is the highest, andcarrying the mass to be ripened gradually downward to the lower part ofthe casing adjacent the deli-very opening wherethe temperature of theair within the casing is the lowest, means to supply moisture and heatto the interior of the casing whereby the pasty or spongy mass isubjected to definite temperatures and a predetermined degree ofmoisture,

A dough-raising or tempering machine comprising an inclosing casing, anendlessconveyer located therein, devices to support the conveyer indiiferent horizontal planes, the initial horizontal travel of theconveyer being located in the uppermost part of'the casing where thetemperature of the heated air therein is the'highest and the succeedinghorizontal. portions of its travel being located in successively lowerand different horizontal planes to cause the spongy mass to be subjectedto successive and decreasing degrees of heat during its travel, means tosupply heat, and means to the interior of the casing, and means tooperate the conveyor.

4.. An air and, moisture tempering or curing machine for pasty or spongymasses, comprising a metal lined casing, track-ways secured to theinterior sides thereof and in different lmrizontal planes, anendless-conveyer provided .with rollers engaging the track'ways, rodsconnecting the conveyers, by and depending from the rods, to receive themass to be cured or tempered, tanks to contain aliquid and locat dWithin the bottom portionof the casing to supply'the requisite quantityof moisture to the interior of the casing to maintain the mass in avpliable condition, means for heating the liquid, means for supplyingheat to the interior of the casing, and means to operate the conveyer,the easing being formed with receiving and delivery openings at theopposite ends thereof and arranged as described.

FRANK, e. BIRD.

Witnesses:

HARRY W. BOWEN,

lAnoLINE V. WILLIS.

as described.

to supply moisture in the same horizontal plane,

